Fran Frisch Memorial
Fran Frisch (1948 - 2021) was a native of Minnesota who called San Francisco home from 1990 to 2007. Since 1989, he worked as a cartoonist for the Bay Area Reporter and for BEAR magazine and other bear-related publications. He was involved in producing the Bear Expo (1992–1994) and International Bear Rendezvous (1995–2007). In addition, he was a founding member of Bears of San Francisco and created logos and graphics for San Francisco and other bear organizations and events.
Frisch routinely donated his time and artistic talent to provide raffle prizes and fundraising works for local bear organizations and events, and his art has helped raised money for multiple HIV/AIDS organizations, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, PFLAG, the GLBT Historical Society, and other nonprofits.
Frisch donated to many fundraisers for prostate cancer awareness and testing. His drawings have raised over $60,000 for a variety of charities around the world.
Memorial Contributions
You can use the form below or visit the donation page located here to make a contribution in honor of Fran Frisch, and help the GLBT Historical Society keep his and countless other LGBTQ stories alive.
“Bear San Francisco” by Fran Frisch (1989); hand-colored print. Collection of Jeremy Prince.
Learn about Frisch’s Art
In 2017, the GLBT Historical Society featured an exhibition of the work of cartoonist Fran Frisch as a starting point for exploring the community of bears, a subculture that developed in the 1980s to celebrate older, larger, hairier, ruggedly masculine gay men who were largely excluded from standards of attractiveness in gay popular culture. Learn more about the exhibition and Frisch’s art using the buttons below.